By Stephen Pytak 

     Fan boys looking to watch a hot chick
kick ass should pass on "Elektra" and 
check their local listings for this.
     This is a martial arts treat, with show
stopping sword and stick fights. It's also a 
great date flick.
     It starts Zhang Ziyi, the 25-year-old
Chinese superstar who made a name for 
herself on these shores with "Crouching 
Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)," and 
"Hero (2004)."
     She also won the award for Best Fight in
2001 at the 18th Annual MTV Video Music 
Awards.
     Like the two abovementioned films, 
"House" has an intriguing story and 
incredible action scenes. A few left me
just...in awe.
     The backdrop is China 859 A.D. The
ruling Tang Dynasty is in decline and 
rebel armies are forming in protest. Among
them is a gang in green who can knock you
into the next world with their tiny curved
thowing knives. It's called The House of 
Flying Daggers.
     In an attempt to infiltrate the House,
a policeman, "Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro)"
goes undercover, and encourages one
of the rebels, a blind dancer named "Mei 
(Ziyi)" to lead him to their camp. Along
the way, they are attacked again and 
again by police. The battles are incredible.
One in a forest of bamboo trees blew me
away.
     There are other dynamics at work here.
These two start to care for each other. And
when they reach the House, they find 
someone there who make the third act
really interesting, Jin's superior officer,
"Leo (Andy Lau.)"
     The intensity of this film reaches so
many highs on so many levels. The fighting
feels so real. Swords in a final duel clank
together so many times that chinks are taken
out of the blades. It's also an emotional 
ride. It's the best tragic love story you'll see
on the big screen right now.
     I read a few criticizms of this flick on
line. A lot of critics called it one of the best of
2004. Others said there was a lot of style
over substance. Some thought that after 
Mei does a somewhat erotic dance number
in a high-end brothel, there should have
been some kind of soft-core sex. 
     Everyone's a critic.
     But not everyone can make a film as
incredible as this.